David James Hensley (born March 28, 1996) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

for the

Olmecas de Tabasco The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero. The Olmecas won their only Mexican Lea ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

. Hensley played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Aztecs The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the ...

, and was selected by the Astros in the 26th round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Astros.

Amateur career

From

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, David Hensley attended Patrick Henry High School and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

(SDSU), where he played

for the

. During his junior year, he led the Aztecs with a .357

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and played mostly

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

. During his college career, he played every position except

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Professional career

Houston Astros

Minor leagues

The

drafted Hensley in the 26th round, with the 792nd overall selection, of the

. He made his professional debut that year with the High–A

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, on ...

. He spent the 2019 season with both Quad Cities and the Single–A

Fayetteville Woodpeckers The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to 201 ...

. Hensley did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2021, Hensley played for the Double–A

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

. Hensley was named the Hooks' Player of the Year after appearing in a team-high 105 games. He achieved personal bests while simultaneously leading the club with 54

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

, a .293 batting average, 25 doubles, three

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, and 46

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

. He also tallied nine

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 51

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI), 11

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s, and a .369

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

. The Astros promoted Hensley to the Triple-A

Sugar Land Space Cowboys The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metro ...

to start the 2022 season. On June 21, 2022, Hensley hit a three-run

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...

to lead Sugar Land to a 3–1 victory over the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

. In Sugar Land, he batted .298/.420/.478 over 464

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s and started at least 15 games at each of the four

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the baseball field, diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, ...

positions.

Major leagues

On August 20,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, the Astros selected Hensley's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 27, starting at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and going 0-for-3 with a strikeout versus the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Minute Maid Park Daikin Park (originally Enron Field and formerly Astros Field and Minute Maid Park) is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 and is the home ballpark of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

. The following day, he doubled off Orioles

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Austin Voth Austin Lee Voth ( ; born June 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Baltimor ...

in the third

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

for his first major league hit. He collected his first three-hit game and reached base four times in a game for the first time in the major leagues versus the Texas Rangers on August 31. Hensley doubled home two runs on in fifth inning on September 4 versus

Tucker Davidson Joseph Tucker Davidson (born March 25, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Lotte Giants of the KBO League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Roy ...

of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

for his first two career RBI. Hensley hit his first major league home run on September 27 in the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park versus

Ian Kennedy Ian Patrick Kennedy (born December 19, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Between 2007 and 2023, he played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Kans ...

of the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. In 2022 he batted 10-for-27 with a home run and five RBI with the Astros. He appeared at second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and as a DH and pinch hitter. Hensley made his postseason debut in Game 1 of the

2022 American League Division Series The 2022 American League Division Series (ALDS) were the two best-of-five playoff series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams of the 2022 American League Championship Series. These matchups are: *(1) 2022 Houston A ...

(ALDS), appearing as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

in the ninth inning. He was

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

by a

Paul Sewald Paul Stanton Sewald (born May 26, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Se ...

pitch, then replaced by

Jake Meyers Jacob Berkshire Meyers (born June 18, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Meyers played college baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was selected in the 13th round by t ...

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

, who scored the lead run on a Yordan Alvarez three-run walk-off home run for an 8–7 final over the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

. It was the first walk-off home run in an MLB postseason contest with the home team down to their final out in the ninth inning and trailing by more than one run. The Astros advanced to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

and defeated the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in six games to give Hensley his first career World Series title. In 2023, Hensley played in 30 games for the Astros, batting .119/.213/.167 with one home run and three RBI. Hensley was optioned to Triple–A Sugar Land to begin the 2024 season. In 81 games for Sugar Land, he batted .234/.352/.376 with seven home runs, 35 RBI, and 17 stolen bases. Hensley was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Astros on July 22, 2024.

Miami Marlins

On July 29, 2024, Hensley was claimed off waivers by the

. In 23 games for the Marlins, he slashed .212/.293/.288 with one home run, four RBI, and one stolen base. On November 1, Hensley was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the minors. He elected free agency on November 4.

Detroit Tigers

On February 13, 2025, Hensley signed a minor league contract with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. In 15 appearances for the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

, he went 4-for-47 (.085) with one home run, four RBI, and nine walks. Hensley was released by the Tigers organization on April 29.

Caliente de Durango

On May 2, 2025, Hensley signed with the

Caliente de Durango Caliente de Durango is a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Durango. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Francisco Villa, with a capacity of 6,000 people. The team was established in 2024 after the former Durango's Mexican L ...

of the

. In 55 appearances for Durango, Hensley slashed .304/.438/.571 with 13 home runs, 51 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.

Olmecas de Tabasco

On July 10, 2025, Hensley was traded to the

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Tigres de Quintana Roo (English: Quintana Roo Tigers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve championships to date: ...

of the

in exchange

Wirfin Obispo Wirfin Y. Obispo Vargas (born September 26, 1984) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants of the Centr ...

and Randy Romero. However, he was then immediately traded to the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hensley, David 1996 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Anchorage Bucs players Baseball players from San Diego Caliente de Durango players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Corpus Christi Hooks players Fayetteville Woodpeckers players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball infielders Miami Marlins players Quad Cities River Bandits players San Diego State Aztecs baseball players Sugar Land Space Cowboys players Tigres del Licey players Toledo Mud Hens players 21st-century American sportsmen

Amateur career

Professional career

Houston Astros

Minor leagues

Major leagues

Miami Marlins

Detroit Tigers

Caliente de Durango

Olmecas de Tabasco

See also

References

External links